Early life and career

Prochnow was born in Berlin and brought up in Düsseldorf, the son of an engineer. He has an elder brother, Dieter. He studied acting at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen. Thanks to his on-screen intensity and his fluency in English, he has become one of the most successful German actors in Hollywood. He portrayed Arnold Schwarzenegger in a film about the actor's political career in California, entitled See Arnold Run; coincidentally, Prochnow was one of the actors considered for the title role in The Terminator. He also appears as the main antagonist in the Broken Lizard film Beerfest, which contains a submarine scene that references his role in Das Boot. He also played a supporting character in the Wing Commander film, Cmdr. Paul Gerald. In addition, he dubbed Sylvester Stallone's voice in the German version of Rocky and Rocky II.

He was facially scarred following a stunt accident during the filming of Dune. One scene called for Prochnow (as Duke Leto) to be strapped to a black stretcher and drugged. During one take, a high-powered bulb positioned above Prochnow exploded due to heat, raining down molten glass. Remarkably, the actor was able to free himself from the stretcher, moments before glass fused itself to the place he had been strapped to. During the filming of the dream sequence, he had a special apparatus attached to his face so that green smoke (simulating poison gas) would emerge from his cheek when the Baron (Kenneth McMillan) scratched it. Although thoroughly tested, the smoke gave Prochnow first and second-degree burns on his cheek. This sequence appears on film in the released version.

In 1996, he was a member of the jury at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival.

Personal life

Prochnow was married in the 1970s and had a daughter Johanna, who died in 1987. He married Isabel Goslar in 1982, with whom he has two children: a daughter, Mona, and a son, Roman; but they divorced in 1997. He currently divides his time between Los Angeles and Munich. He was involved with Birgit Stein, a German screenwriter and actress. He received U.S. citizenship in 2003.

Awards

• 1985 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Actor

Filmography

One or the Other of Us (1974) Die Verrohung des Franz Blum (The Brutalisation of Franz Blum) (1974) The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (1975) Die Konsequenz (1977) The Consequence Das Boot (1981) The Boat The Keep (1983) Passion and Valor aka Love is Forever (1983) Dune (1984) Forbidden (1984) Der Bulle und das Mädchen (de) (1985) Killing Cars (de) (1986) Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) Des Teufels Paradies (Devil's Paradise) (1987) Terminus (1987) The Seventh Sign (1988) Kill Cruise (1990) The Fourth War (1990) A Dry White Season (1990) The Man Inside (1990) Robin Hood (1991) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) Jewels (1992) Hurricane Smith (1992) Interceptor (1992) Body of Evidence (1993) In the Mouth of Madness (1995) Judge Dredd (1995)

On Dangerous Ground 1995 The English Patient (1996) The Human Bomb (1996) DNA (1997) Der Schrei Der Liebe (1997) The Cry of Love Air Force One (1997) The Replacement Killers (1998) Esther (1998) The Fall (1998) Wing Commander (1999) Elite (2000) Padre Pio: Miracle Man (2000) Ripper (2001) Jack the Dog (2001) Dark Asylum (2001) Heart of America (2002) House of the Dead (2003) Baltic Storm (2003) See Arnold Run (2005) (TV) The Da Vinci Code (2006) Beerfest (2006) The Celestine Prophecy (2006) Primeval (2007) Nanking (2007) Dark Sector (2008) (Video Game) La Conjura de El Escorial (2008) Merlin and the War of the Dragons (2008) Sinners & Saints (2009) 24 (2010) NCIS: Los Angeles (2010) Company of Heroes (2013) Remember (2015)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]